Roundtable Time

This week's roundtables are kindly hosted by Nittany White Out, a Penn State blog of questionable morals and talent. In other words, my kind of blog.

On to the questions!

We're approaching week 9 now, are you pleasantly surprised or already waiting for basketball season?

I am, actually, pleasantly surprised by the amount of fight that the Big Ten has shown. After another ho-hum slate of OOC games, the Big Ten has represented well. Penn State and Ohio State are both obviously in the top ten, Michigan State (despite whipping) is still a formidable team, and Minnesota and Northwestern have been pleasant surprises for all. Really, Michigan is a huge disappointment in terms of a "hur-hur B10 rules!" kind of argument, but that's about it. Top to bottom, the Big Ten is a competitive league with some teams that, given the right circumstances, could sneak into the title game (I'm looking at you, Ohio State).

Describe one specific play from this season you would alter for a different outcome if you had the chance to.

It's hard to determine one specific play that has determined a whole lot. to single one play out is to downplay the significance of the other plays that got to that situation. I suppose, if I were to single out one play, I'd like to take back a personal foul on the punt return during the latest Michigan v. Penn State game. It probably wouldn't have mattered given what happened in the 2nd half, but that late 2nd half TD for PSU hurt in a variety of ways. I guess I'd have liked to have made them work a little harder for it.

That said, it doesn't necessarily change the outcome of the game - as soon as the threat of Threet keeping the ball disappeared, so did the offense - but rather it would have made me happy going into halftime instead of nervous. Happy B2 is much more fun that nervous B2.

How could it (#2) possibly impact the way your season is going?

It could have improved the short-term relationship between myself and my girlfriend. And her family. And the dogs.

Big Ten player you just can't stand, why?

Without delving too far into the vitriol for which this medium is known, I am very scared of Terrelle Pryor.

Boo'ing your own team (we've seen quite a lot of this across the Big Ten this season), your feelings on this.

This question seems an awful lot like a veiled shot at Michigan, but whatevs. I don't boo, and I will tell people in my immediate vicinity to stop booing, but for me that's where it ends. I'm not going to crusade against it or anything, because there will be dumbasses everywhere, and an angry dumbass is in no way ready to be converted to the patient-type. I'm more of a "thousand yard stare" type of loser anyways, and too inconsolable to really get worked up enough to "stop" the booing.

Number of beers or alcoholic drinks consumed by week 8 (or a good estimate)

Drinking leads to all sorts of socially deviant behavior, and is a sign of poor breeding. For shame, NWO, for shame.

Most annoying commercial seen this season

"They're heeeeeeeerrreeeeeeee"

"Frank TV, vurry funny"

Your prediction for the next coaching change in the Big Ten (Joe Tiller exempt)

Wisconsin will have a new coach before too long. Mark it.

Interview with a Spartan

Not nearly this cool

As a part of our Spartravaganza today, we've got resident blogger of Ground Zero East Lansing here to discuss a little Michigan State. Along with running a fine blog, G0EL Pete is also the only Spartan I know who has a sense of humor regarding Michigan, making him just short of awesome. Unfortunately, I was unable to line up an Ohio State blogger for questioning, partly because I never asked, but mostly because none of them can read. On to the questions!

Ok, we're bound by our contract to ask this question first: Who is the player on Ohio State who scares you the most?

That'd be Beanie. It's more of MSU's experiences with past Big 10 running backs (Thigpen, Greene and Sutton all broke the 100 yard barrier) that factors into this fear than anything else. If Beanie is breaking into the secondary consistently, that's going to allow OSU to go into the Jim Tressel patented "try and hold the ball for all 60 minutes" mode.

Are there any particular nuances about Beanie vs. the Run Defense that we should know about?

Obviously, in the run game, so much of it comes down to blocking along the line. If the OSU OL gets out on their blocks, the guards pull and block the Spartan LB, it's going to lead to big, big gains. Which means of course, big, big trouble in Spartan Stadium.

Defensively, Greg Jones remains my favorite Spartan. We have a tag devoted to him. He's tall, and a really sweet guy, and well, I just really like him :) :) ...How is he doing this year; do you expect him to have a big game this weekend?

Greg Jones has had a solid year. He's currently leading the team in tackles (52) and ranks second in tackles for a loss (5.5). If MSU wins this game on Saturday, I expect him to have a big if quiet day in which he records more than 10 tackles. If he has less than that, it means one of two things: Beanie Wells is running into the secondary or Pryor is throwing it over Jones' head. I'm going to go out on a huge limb and say the former is much more likely to happen than the latter; if Tressel could super-glue the ball into Terrelle's hands, I have no doubt that he would.

Ok, so what is Michigan State's achilles heel defensively? Does OSU have the ability to exploit it, or will MSU be able to cover it up?

In a stunner this year, it's not the secondary. I'd say it's the inability of the front seven to stop the run consistently. OSU definitely has the ability to exploit it, if they don't turn the ball over. MSU is +10 in turnover differential this year, and have stopped many drives in the red zone by causing a fumble or interception (Case in point: Iowa.) The Spartans have been covering up this deficiency by causing turnovers, but if they don't get any against OSU...look out.

Switching gears to the offense, most of the teams that MSU has faced thus far have lacked to ability to stack the line and stop Ringer from killing them. Ohio State has the ability to do just that. How do you expect Hoyer to play should Ringer be slowed?

Well, Ringer has slowed a bit in Big Ten play (his YPC in the last three games: 4.5, 3.6, 3.5). Ohio State definitely has the ability to stack the line. I expect Ringer's production to be much similar to the Iowa game. Iowa had a killer DL, and OSU has killer LBs, so I expect Ringer's YPC in the mid threes. I expect MSU to run it enough to set up the play action and deep pass for Hoyer, who has improved in Big Ten play (I believe he's the third ranked passer in Big 10 games). The thing that can't happen is that he can't play like he did in Columbus last year, where he completed under 50% of his passes and threw for just over 100 yards. I expect Hoyer to be his solid, unspectacular self, throw for about 200 yards on 55-60% passing, with a TD and no picks.

As for the "We'll stop Ringer and let Hoyer beat us" strategy, ask Indiana, Iowa, and Northwestern how that went.

Right. Regarding the inevitable tailspin?

I've got two and a half words for you: John L. Smith. Now that Dantonio is the the head coach, MSU is playing much more consistently (for example: I guarantee you that in this OSU game, unlike three years ago, eleven players will take the field for a FG attempt. That was the game most known for "THE PLAYERS ARE PLAYING THEIR TAILS OFF, AND THE COACHES ARE SCREWING IT UP!" That was the tailspin moment for 2005.). The secondary is intercepting balls, penalties are being kept to a minimum, everybody's healthy, and nobody's slapping himself in the face.

I don't believe a loss to OSU will start that tailspin mainly because MSU's next three games are these: @ UM, Wisconsin, and Purdue. In years past, any casual viewer knew that MSU would definitely be outclassed in those games, but not anymore. Albeit, the definition of a tailspin involves a team losing games it should win, and those three games are ones in which the Spartans will be favored. I believe Dantonio has MSU too focused, and too grounded for a tailspin to occur again.

And if it does, I drink myself silly until November 16th, when MSU Basketball stats its season against Idaho. It's easier than you think, Michigan fans. Just start drinking, and don't stop until leaves are on the trees again. (ed.- My favorite line from the entire interview. A Spartan with a sense of humor...love it.)

BTB Roundtable Questions: BS, man, complete BS

Our friends over at Boiled Sports are hosting this week, after being displaced by that unholy bastard Ike over the past few weeks. They're all ok though, which is really a double edged sword, because being ok means still subjecting us to their posting (I keed, I keed). They are, at any rate, Indiana native and baseball fans, so I suppose that's good enough for me.

On to the questions!

1) We're all car guys here at BS. So your task is to assign your own program a vehicle. Is Purdue an all-terrain vehicle like a Jeep or a Hummer? Something befitting a brawny Boilermaker? Is Ohio State a slow, conversion van being passed by Corvettes with USC markings? Is IU a John Deere tractor with a hillbilly riding on it? Get creative and let us know both what your school is if it’s a car as well as assigning a vehicle to as many of the other Big Ten schools as you like. (I’d require you to do them all but I know attention spans are short and counting to 11 is hard.)

So far in this blog's short history, we've avoided falling into the trap of "Big Ten teams as..." posts. Big Ten teams as Simpson's Characters! Big Ten teams as TV Networks! Big Ten teams as Porn Stars!: They're all tiresome and tedious. Except maybe that last one, but this is an upstanding family site you disgusting fuckwad. We'll play along here though, and for extra credit we'll do all eleven Big Ten teams as "modes of transportation."

Illinois: The Dodo. If you've played GTAIII (yes, the one for PS2) you know exactly what I'm talking about. You're playing this game, right, and it's unlike any other game you've played. It's sweet - you can kill old ladies, drive any vehicle on the map, and wreak havoc in a realistic feeling city. Then, when you think things can't get any better, you stumble upon this, mockingly called "The Dodo"

The Biggest Cock-Tease in Video Game History

Oh sure, you can get it, and you can drive it. But just try to get off the ground for any discernible distance. Go ahead. We dare you. Fucking hell, RockStar, would it have been that difficult to let you fly the damn thing? Just like Illinois, the thing looks sweet, and runs fine on the ground, but as soon as you try to do anything through the air it locks up and ends in a heaping fireball of twisted fury and a PS2 controller slammed viciously against the floor.

Indiana: Man, I just don't know what to say here. The cliche would be to go with the tractor, both because Indiana loves them some farmin' and the overall velocity of a tractor matches that of the Indiana program. I can't go cliche, so I'll go with the first thing that google images pops up when I type in "Indiana University and Car." Indiana, this is your vehicle:

That doesn't look like Indiana at all!

Odd, since that appears to be the Golden Gate bridge in the background, but also kinda fitting. I mean, that's a classic car that is probably fun to drive. You're not going to get anywhere fast, and I probably wouldn't take it out of the garage on a rainy day, but hey, on a perfect day going downhill, it can probably get you safely to a bowl game.

Iowa: The first thing that popped into my head when I though "Iowa" was this, offered without caption or comment:

Michigan: I think this is going to be a popular response, given the nature of the program right now, but what the hell. Michigan, this is yo' ride:
You just know that thing's got a kickin' V8 in there capabable of putting out a gazillion horsepower. But right now, it's just a rusty lump stuck in park. Wait until Rodriguez goes all Xhibit up on that peice.

Michigan State: I own a Saab, which is among the most frustrating things I've ever done. Oh sure, it looks nice, and wow that turbo is pretty cool too. But, uh, it worked right for about the first 5,000 miles. Since then? Nothing but breakdowns and screwups. Michigan State: You aren't just any Saab, you're my Saab, currently with the Check Engine light aglow and readings that say "multi-cylinder misfire." You're still in your first 5,000 miles; I'm waiting for the inevitible breakdown.

Minnesota: The mall escalator. They're the up side so far, but sooner or later, you've gotta get off that puppy and head back down. I mean, they only go two directions.

Northwestern: Growing up in Indiana, I thought the Corvette was the end-all-be-all of sports cars, and I still love them. After moving out to Boston, and to a lesser extent traveling to Los Angeles, London, and Las Vegas somewhat frequently, I've realized that Corvettes are actually kind of "blah" in the Sports Car realm. You want to show some money? You'd better get that Ferrari or Maserati. I'm pretty good friends with a few NBA players as well - and they wouldn't be caught dead in a Corvette, preferring the white-on-white Bentley, or whatever vehicle was most recently refrenced in the current hip-hop track (I'm not even joking about this). What I'm trying to say is that Corvettes are for older folks who can't afford a 6 figure sports car, grew up in the midwest, and vote staunchly Republican. But here's the thing: A Corvette will blow the doors off of any stock car that you see driving around, including those 6 figure Bentley coupes. To the programs who consider themselves in that "6 figure" range, I would issue a very stern "be careful" when you see that awkwardly purple Corvette pull alongside you at the red light. You might just get torched.
Why Purple? No really, Why?

Ohio State: Still the class of the Big Ten, but I'll let a classic post from the now defunct "mzone" take it from here:

"So, what's it like to travel in style as a Buckeye fan? Check out the pic below that MZone reader Tom sent our way of a Buckeye named "Brad" cruising the streets of Ohio in his sweet-ass ride...
Folks, it's not just the $4 dollar window flag on Brad's bitchin' Cavalier proudly proclaiming his Buckeye pride that lets the ladies know they're hanging with a smooth operator. No, sirree. It's the personalized license plate and the bumper stickers that tell the story of the man behind the wheel of this Buckeye babe machine.

Being a safety guy, the bumper sticker on the left promotes seat belt use and reads, "Please stick it in...it's the law." Get it? "Stick it in." Oh, Brad. Brad, Brad, Brad. You sly master of the double entendre, you.

The bumper sticker on the right says, "Tell your boobs to stop staring at my eyes." Brad-meister. Goddamn, you funny, funny, motherfucker. Shit, my side hurts. Actually both sides - one for each bumper sticker.

And how does the owner of a kick-ass Cav like this one top the double whammy of bumper sticker brilliance: Bam! - personalized license plate. First, he gets the one with the Ohio State logo, you know, to match the window flag. Check. Then, after standing for hours at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles thinking, mulling, trying to come up with the perfect topper to his pussy wagon, Brad strikes gold: BRAD69.

Naturally, Brad can barely contain himself upon hearing it's not already taken. Surely some other Brad - every other Brad - had to have scooped this up years ago. But, alas, no, Brad, you are the one. The chosen one.

Duh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-NUH! Go Bucks? Not today.

Go Brad!"

Thanks, Mzone.

Penn State: Last week, I wrote that the tag line for Penn State this year should be "I can't believe this offense is working either." What vehicle perfectly matches that? How about this:

Every time this thing starts, I'm amazed, but man oh man, once it's goin' it can sure mow down opponents, provided they're not over 6" tall and made of soft, fluffy grass. Either way, this thing's pretty useless once the grass stops growing, which should be around October 1st.

Purdue:
Awww, that's cute. Why don't you let me know when you get a real vehicle capable of actually going somewhere.

Wisconsin: Wisconsin is a pickup truck. Not built for speed, or stealth, or really anything other than utility. But it runs all the time, has some power, and will totally help you move provided you give them a 6 pack at the end of the day.

2) In Week 1 in the NFL, the New England Patriots learned how precious things can be when Tom Brady had his knee blown out by a former Boilermaker. Let's say your team wins out from here to the end and is in a BCS bowl game with a chance to do the school and conference proud – what ONE player on your squad would you most likely cry about having his knee blown out in the first quarter? That is, who is truly indispensable?

Going through every team so far has been tedious, so I'll name just a few players who I believe are truly indispensable for teams thus far:

Beanie Wells - OSU
C.J. Bacher - Northwestern
Javon Ringer - MSU
Kellen Lewis - Indiana
Juice Williams - Illinois

Really, that's all I can think of. This answer probably won't win any awards, but I need to get to work at some point today.

3) Purdue plays Notre Dame this week and, well, we detest Notre Dame like probably no other program. Let's say I have the power to force you (maybe you lost a bet to me) to wear another Big Ten school's colors to an away game for that team. That is, you're wearing OSU colors to a game being played at Michigan, or something like that. And I'm talking, dorky, head-to-toe… goofy-ass sweatshirts and flat-brimmed, ridiculous-looking hats. If you have to choose, which program would you be able to stomach wearing? (Remember, you're going to an away game, so people won't like you and accept you and you'll be taking this abuse for a school you're not even affiliated with.) And by the same token, what program could you absolutely not EVER stomach wearing, under any circumstances?

I actually wear IU gear during Basketball season (don't kill me, BS!), so I'm all for the Hoosiers. I would never wear Ohio State gear, but had an awkward experience involving Greg Oden during which I had to pretend to be an Ohio State fan. I vomited violently afterwards. I don't understand how Ohio State fans can stand that taste. Seriously, it's like cabbage and cigarette butts.

4) I like big butts and I can not lie. Share your embarrassing guilty pleasure music selection that you know other people might laugh at. Bonus points if you can send a YouTube video of an awful music video with it. Many/most of us grew up and/or went to college in the '80s and '90s so I know you've all got some Nelson After The Rain on the iPod.

I have an entire playlist dedicated to "monster-ballads" on my iPod. I don't even like Poison, but "Every Rose has its Thorn" gets me every time.

BTB Roundtable Questions: Purple Helmet Edition

This week's roundtables are being courteously hosted by friend of blog Lake the Posts, who covers Northwestern with an excellence that far exceeds that of the actual team's. Nonetheless, he is read daily by yours truly, and since Northwestern is converging on being nationally relevant (in a top-25 sort of way) for the first time in nearly a decade, he should be a daily read of yours as well.

On to the questions!

1) The national media is using the Big Ten Conference as a punching bag in 2008 ranking us somewhere between the Big East and the MAC. Based on Ohio State's no-show, Purdue's "APPLE!!!" and Michigan's debacle, it is redemption week in Big Ten Country. However, several teams have very respectable, yet no-name teams (ie. Troy, Central Michigan, Ball State). Tell us how the Big Ten will respond this week in the final week before conference play.

To answer the actual question, I think the Big Ten will be fine this final week before conference matchups begin. The games look like this:

Ohio @ NU
FAU @ Minn
Temple @ PSU
Iowa @ Pitt
CMich @ Pur
Troy @ OSU
Notre Dame @ MSU
Ball St @ Ind

Just like week two, I expect the Big Ten to run the table again, with possible trouble brewing for Minny, Iowa, and Indiana (and Iowa only because it's a road game, and weird things happen). The question within this question, however, is that of the national perception of the Big Ten. For a few years now, we've heard the cries from the corners of the country - the Big Ten is weak, slow, unprepared, and soft. Well, in 2006, we had Michigan and Ohio State to rally behind, and they came with a preloaded excuse for their bowl collapses. In '07, Ohio State was still a monster, but after Michigan's soul-wrenchingly bad start, they (OSU) were also the only team in the conference who could claim national relevancy. This year, nobody's home. It doesn't make the football any less entertaining, and it doesn't mean that the Big Ten is full of bad teams - it just means that the upper crust of college football this year doesn't include the BXI. I expect that to change over the coming years, but there is no sense in denying it now: compared to the other BCS conferences, the Big Ten is pretty weak top to bottom.

2)The conference standings look like someone took the 2007 results and flipped it upside down. Which of the undefeated teams are contenders and which are pretenders (another way of saying which teams have put lipstick on a pig)? Recalibrate your preseason rankings and tell us who the conference favorites are now.

My preseason Big Ten rankings looked like this:

1. Ohio State
2. Wisconsin
3. Penn State
4. Michigan
5. Michigan State
6. Northwestern
7. Illinois
8. Purdue
9. Iowa
10. Minnesota
11. Indiana

Ohio State, despite the no-show against USC, is still, laughably, the best team in the conference, and should win it rather undisputed. I had Wisconsin occupying the number 2 spot, and I would leave them there for now, knowing that Penn State has to go win in Madison before they can claim it. Michigan...eh...I was optimistic. I still think they are capable of putting together a run and finishing at 6-6 or something like that, but 4th in the conference was too high. I've got Michigan State right where they need to be, and I would move Northwestern into the 4 spot vacated by Michigan (pandering to Lake the Posts? Maybe...) Seriously, Northwestern has impressed me thus far, and frankly, I don't see anybody out of the remaining teams as a clear favorite to beat them. The rest is still a jumbled mess of 5 to 7 win ballclubs; ranking them is an exercise in futility. I will say that Purdue, despite the loss, looked sharp against Oregon.

3)Javon Ringer has emerged as the early season best-bet Heisman hopeful from the Big Ten. Real deal or non-conference smoke screen? Does anyone from the Big Ten have a prayer for the Heisman, or is it too late?

Nobody from the Big Ten has a prayer to win the Heisman this year. I doubt anyone will even be invited. Beanie had a shot, but his nagging injury will prevent him from being a serious contender. As unfortunate is this is, Ringer could run for 200+ in every single one of his remaining games, and unless MSU is a contender nationally, he won't get a sniff of Heisman. There are too many good QB's (Tebow, Daniels, Bradford) out there for a player from the marginal Big Ten to get any Heisman love.

4)After three weeks it is time to give your team a new slogan. What is it and why is it what it is?

Illinois Football: Wither Art Thou, Mendenhall?

Indiana Football: We're Probably Better than the Basketball Team This Year.

Iowa Football: They're not booing, they're saying...well...yes, they're booing.

Michigan Football: Not Recommended for Consumption.

Michigan State Football: Now with 75% more Scowling!

Minnesota Football: GO, EXCELSIOR, WIN FIGHT!

Northwestern Football: Affordable Tickets since 1903

Ohio State Football - now with completely justified disrespect.

Penn State Football: I can't believe this offense is working either.

Purdue Football: Position Wanted: Kicker

Wisconsin Football: Just Don't Make us Pass.

5)By now, you've likely adopted a favorite non Big Ten team to watch. Flex your football worldliness by convincing your fellow Big Ten kool-aid drinkers to watch your "other" team.

If you're a fan of gutty, well coached, slightly under-talented teams achieving at high levels, I recommend that you watch Wake Forest play every Saturday.

1) Riley Skinner poses naked.
2) Jim Grobe looks asleep on the sidelines.
3) Wake's defense is better at forcing turnovers than Michigan's offense.
4) Kicker Sam Swank is automatic inside of 75 yards.

Seriously, they're fun to root for because they're the perpetual underdog. This weekend, they face Florida State, who is either ranked, or on the cusp of being ranked depending on what poll you look at. Should be a fun matchup.

Alex Trebek Answers the Big Ten Roundtable

Gopher Nation - guest of blog; friend of blog; all around good guy - has decided that it's about time the Big Ten Bloggers got together to discuss some very important issues regarding the rivalries that exist within our glorious conference. Of course, neither Champ nor I are intelligent enough to run through the mental gauntlet set up by our Gopher-clad friend. As such, we've gotten another friend of the blog to weigh in. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Alex Trebek.



Thanks for agreeing to answer these questions in a completely fictitious setting, Alex.




What is, no problem at all, I'm glad I could fictitiously be here?




Um...Alex, why are you taking your shirt off?





What is, you should see what I'm wearing under the table...or not wearing?



That'll be fine, Alex, why don't you just sit back down, and um, not do that again. Also, you don't have to answer in question form.




Who was Josef Stalin?



What are you talking about? Should we just get started?




Incorrect, the correct answer was Communist Bastard.



Right. Let's get started.




And the categories are...


ESPN's Adam Rittenberg recently ranked the top 5 rivalries in the Big Ten and there were some controversial results (Illinois v Ohio State as #3?). Clearly Ohio State vs. Michigan is the #1 rivalry in the Big Ten, but give me your next three. Your school does not have to be included in this list, but regardless of who you choose defend your picks.


Ohio State vs. Michigan? Number one? Laughable. The top three rivalries are, in specific order, Roosevelt vs. Hitler, Sodium Hypochlorite vs. Hydrochloric Acid, and finally, Grammatical accuracy vs. Grammatical style.



We were talking about the Big Ten.


Incorrect. First, Roosevelt vs. Hitler is a well known rivalry dating back to 1945, when Hitler installed a countdown clock in the fuhrerbunker outside of Berlin. It was in response to Roosevelt calling Germany America's "little brother."

Second, we have Sodium Hypochlorite, better known as bleach, vs. Hydrochloric Acid. When mixed together, the two react to create Chlorine Gas - lethal even in small doses. You can't even put these two in a bowl game without them literally killing everyone in attendance.



Mr. Trebek, could we please get back to the Big Ten...


Thirdly, the everlasting argument and bane of every writing student ever. This one goes far beyond split infinitives to include all grammatical rules. Can you end a sentence with a preposition? Can you split an infinitive if the situation calls for it? This one rages on - bitter to the very end.



None of these answers are going to be about football, are they?




What is, no?


Why do you answer these "side" questions in "Jeopardy" format, but not the main questions?




What is, it's much easier to write?

Correct. Next question: Obviously winning every game is important and beating really good teams sends a stronger message than beating Minnesota. Assume every team is .500 this year and the outcome of your next two games means nothing outside of pride and a year's worth of bragging rights. Give me the two schools you would want to beat (in order) and why. What makes beating School's A and B significant?


What a complicated question...you know who I really wanted to beat? That smarmy asshole Ken Jennings. You should have seen him backstage, taking all the groupie-poon from yours truly.



Wait a second, there are Jeopardy groupies?



Why do you think I'm not wearing pants? And now that Ken's finally gone, I'm back in the game.


Right. The next question was going to be "take the two teams from above that you claim are your biggest rivals and give me a new mascot for them." But clearly...




...Achurum carinatum



What?




Longheaded Tooth-Pick Grasshopper.

Ummm...right. Next question: There are some new rules in college football this year. My favorite is the Big Ten experimental rule which states that after every win this year you get to pluck one player off their roster and bring them back to your campus. Looking at your schedule give me two players you would pluck (assuming a win), why you would take them and what would you do with them?



Given that this is a non team specific blog, I suppose the correct answer would be to just pick the two best players in the Big Ten this year. I would take Beanie Wells and James Laurinaitis, both from Ohio State. I think Beanie is the most physical running back in the league this year, and the offensive line behind which he runs will provide excellent gaps. On the defensive side of the ball, Laurinaitis provides the exact kind of leadership I want out of my Mike Linebacker position. I fully expect him to learn to shed blocks a little better this year, and as such, he should be a terror in the middle.


Wow...that was remarkably well thought out. I'm glad we got at least one coherent answer.




Answer...Daily Double.



Thanks for dropping by today, Alex, it was...interesting.




Incorrect, the correct answer was Cork, Ireland.



Right...




Where are my pants?

The Cycle of Journalism

Or, more appropriately, the cycle of Sports Journalism. You see, Sports Journalism is unique in that it does significantly more prognosticating than its brethren on the serious pages of the newspaper. It does much less reporting, and much more guessing. Take a look at your morning Newspaper, MSM website, or Yahoo's front page. Today, there will be speculation on where Manny Ramirez is headed, what the Packers will do with Brett Favre, and how the USA Basketball team will fare in Beijing. These are the stories that are dominating the front pages of sports sections across the country, and they are largely speculative pieces. The hotter the topic, the more speculation.

What the naive believe is that sports writers write pieces designed to get at the truth; what they, with all their access that us common folks don't have, believe will actually happen. In reality, sportswriters write what they believe will get people to read their articles, click their links, and make their newspapers money. Drew Sharp in Detroit, Dan Shaughnessy in Boston, Colin Cowherd on the Radio; they all are controversial, and they all get you to read their article, and in so doing, patronize their news outlet.

Within this framework, there is a specific cycle that Sports Journalism prognotications follow. It is as follows:

Step 1: Pick this year's "hot topic" prediction
Step 2: Find out what everyone else is saying in said prediction
Step 3: Print your own article rehashing what everyone else has said - tow the company line, make sure it pisses off a large section of your readership. You are a parrot at this point, simply repeating what has been said.
Step 4: Once the market has become super-saturated with the prediction that everyone is saying - write an article claiming that said prediction may be wrong, thus endearing yourself to the readership that your original prediction pissed off, and giving you the option to be "right" no matter the outcome.

Applied to College Football, it looks something like this:

Step one: Identify Michigan as a "hot topic" for predictions.
Step two: The media, including blogs, message boards, etc. has universally panned Michigan's chances for success this season.
Step three: Write your own article saying what everyone else is saying.
Step four: Ahh, the saturation point. It has been reached, and now you're seeing pushback.

Soon, the view of "Michigan may not be that bad" will reach the saturation point, and the cycle will rinse, and repeat. It happens all the time. Look for me to be writing a post about how good Michigan's going to be despite what everyone is saying in the near future - that way I can be right no matter what too.

A Letter From Philedelphia Cream Cheese:

Note from Editor: Please read THIS before continuing.

Dear Mr. Tiller,

First and foremost, we'd like to thank you for your continued patronage and support of our product. It positively warms our cheese filled hearts to know that we contribute even an ounce (or 20!) of happiness to you and your family. Did you know that healthy living is 90% happiness and 10% nutrition and exercise*? Or that Philadelphi Cream Cheese, with its smooth, rich taste can contribute to that happiness up to 65%*? So damn the torpedoes Joe! The crestor won't help you with happiness! If we may put on our own white coats here, I'd recommend doubling your daily intake.

Now, about these letters we've been receiving. As you can see, we're most pleased that you enjoy our products. In fact, sales in central Indiana have never been stronger. We're all for the occasional pat on the back here at PCC, but this has gotten out of hand. It started casually enough, a simple letter stating how much you've enjoyed our product, but recently you've sent some pictures that are...shall we say...a tad over the top. In fact, we've been getting pictures of you "posing" with our product for exactly 124 days running. We've tolerated the anecdotes about your former player's nicknames, and what - exactly - they do with their male members. And, as I stated before, we've received the pictures. Your last letter contained this picture:


Now you see, this is where we, as a company, must draw the line. If you would like to send a picture of you and your family enjoying Cream Cheese, by all means...ah...wait a second. You'd better not send that either. In fact, don't send us another letter. Just go ahead and fill up your bathtub with our product, go under, and never ever come up you CLOGGED TUB OF PROCESSED LARD.

DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG YOU'VE MADE MY LIFE A FUCKING NIGHTMARE? I HAVE AN IVY LEAGUE EDUCATION! I AM NOT HERE TO RESPOND TO YOUR NEAR DAILY LETTERS!

FUCK!

I JUST...

FUCK!

I HATE THIS, I HATE THIS, I HATE THIS. Hang on. Let me pull it together. It started out cool man - Joe Tiller just wrote me a letter. Me! Of all people! You must have taken my kind response - hand signed and written, mind you - as a little sign from above to just keep going. And you just kept going. Kept writing letters. Kept sending disgusting pictures. WELL I'M THE FUCK OVER IT. And I'm SCARED!

I'm scared to death of your retirement. You see, I was a college football fan. Dare I say, I was even a Penn State fan - meaning I was a fan of your OWN DAMN CONFERENCE. The operative word here is "was." You see, now I look forward to those glorious 4 months in the fall because you STOP WRITING. I can't STAND to watch football anymore, because all I see is your warm pudgy body covered in cheese. You've ruined it man, you've ruined me.

And now what? After this season, it could be all Philedelphia Cream Cheese, all the time. I shudder to think of the scenarios you can film yourself in involving our product with all your attention devoted to it. I'm starting to twitch. My therapist says I need to relax, but I can't because EVERY SINGLE FUCKING DAY I SEE YOUR GAWDDAMN NAME IN MY MAILBOX.

I'm trying to hold it together man, I'm trying. But please, STOP WRITING ME before I have to end it all in the giant Cheese Processing machine right outside my office window. I'll jump man. Don't think it hasn't crossed my mind.

Sincerely,

The Philadelphia Cream Cheese Company

* Statistics researched at the Philadelphia Cream Cheese institute, which isn't even science. Not at all. All it is is a vain hope that if you eat more Cream Cheese, you will eventually DIE YOU FAT BASTARD.


(Terrorist Fist Jab - BHGP)

Social Cognition and the College Football Fan

Social Cognition: The Basics

There is a concept out there on human behavior called Social Cognition, which is an offshoot of Cognitive Psychology. Essentially, it states that there are several programmed responses in our noggins to any and all external stimuli. We get these programmed responses, called schemas, by learning from and modeling those around us. Our various schemas are activated by external forces, and activated without our knowledge; they are programmed responses.

Essentially, there are two ways in which we subconsciously decide to activate a particular schema. They are salience and priming. Salience refers to the way in which the stimulus activating the schema stands out relative to other stimuli. For example, lets say you're at a tailgate at Ross-Ade with a bunch of your buddies. You're all wearing your Kyle Orton and Drew Brees jerseys, along with your Joe Tiller Custom Mustaches. Football is in the air. A lone man in an Indiana jersey joins your tailgate. Well, that just activated your "Indiana" schema, which also activated your "hostility" and "dislike" schemas. These schemas are grouped together because that's how you, a Purdue fan, have organized them. Obviously, an IU fan would have his "Indiana" schema clustered around different schemas such as "fun" "love" and "why the hell did I buy an IU football jersey." Your "Indiana" stimuli didn't just get activated out of the blue; it was activated because it just became very, very important to your immediate social surroundings. It became "salient."

Priming refers to the experiences immediately preceding the schema activation. Using the same example as above, that man in the IU jersey is presumably primed for a fight, being that he's at an away game, and the sort of guy to approach a hostile team's tailgate. Ever wonder why you can't fall asleep after watching an episode of Ghost Hunters? It's because the experience of Ghost Hunters has primed your "fear" schema. Completely ordinary noises and shadows are now interpreted as threats as a result.

So what does this have to do with football? Nothing. But it does shed some light on how we act and interact as fans. Each of us have our own schemas set up relating to our own preference in teams. My "Purdue" schema, and relative network of associated schemas, is wildly different from Joe Boilermaker's. Here's where things get interesting: Social Cognition is mostly concerned with the way new information is processed within preexisting schemas.

Why we feel the way we feel.

College Football fans are fun to study under these parameters, mostly because they make it so damn easy. Let's take the biggest bit of "new information" to come into the Big Ten this year: Rich Rodriguez. While most of us probably had a "Rich Rodriguez" (RR) schema set up, it was probably never salient or primed, so it was probably not used much. However, with RR taking over Michigan, we now have to assimilate that schema into a much more salient and much better primed "Michigan" schema. All of the sudden, RR is relevant in our Big Ten obsessed lives.

How you assimilate this new schema is largely dependent on how you've classified "Michigan." For an OSU fan, Rich automatically got thrown into the "bad" schema. For a UM fan, Rich got thrown into the "good" schema. This is, of course, simplified horrifically; in reality each individual's "RR" schema falls somewhere on a spectrum between good and bad.

As RR's schema becomes more primed and salient, people's minds will naturally pay more attention to new information regarding that schema. How we process that information, however, is largely dependent on how we've classified RR's schema. Confirmation Bias states that people will attend to the information that confirms their pre-existing schema, and ignore information that casts that schema into doubt. In action, confirmation bias looks like this, regarding the recent payout to WVU:

from an OSU message board:

"I laugh, Now you are forced to focus on the results of the season. I do believe you will be hoping to find distractions the next couple of years. This really provides another good opportunity to question the character and competence of DickRod. He drug the school and scUM football program through 7 months of this then ended up "settling" for the buy-out originally negotiated in his contract? I suppose he will claim victory in this. Hail to the Victors!"

Add in the requisite sarcastic smiley's, and you get the picture. Compare this with an unrelated response from a UM message board:

"7 months too long? Apparently you all aren't familair with the judicial system. It can take years for a case to go to trial. Honestly, it wouldn't have bothered me a bit if this thing took a couple of years. It truely don't think it would have been a distraction. Either way at the end of the day RR either was gonna pay it or get off. I think the longer this thing would have dragged on the more we would have learned about how corrupt WVU is and they would have looked worse in the court of public opinion more so than RR."

To an OSU fan, RR is a classless fool who not only got what was coming financially, but also sucks as a coach and will fail miserably. The new information was assimilated as such because of the pre-existing schema in which RR was categorized. RR = Bad, so only the "bad" new information was taken in. It also activated a whole other set of schemas related to RR, such as his moral character and coaching skills. Likewise, the Michigan fan's response came as a result of his own RR schema. RR = Good, thus, the new info was couched in a most positive way. Both sides took the new information, in this case the buyout ruling, and assimilated it according to their own confirmation bias.

There are two cliche's that have their roots in confirmation bias. They are "You'll hear what you want to hear" and "You'll believe what you want to believe." There are reasons cliche's exist; it is because they are true. If you already contemn a team, coach, or person, then any new information about that object will be parsed into positives and negatives, with the positives thrown out, and the negatives kept.

Why we act the way we act

There is another side of Social Cognition, and that is how activated schemas are either suppressed or enforced given the social situation. A pretty girl may activate a certain schema in your head, but for most of us, social constrictions and upbringing prevent us from grabbing said girl's ass. Mostly, it is because we know that if we do that, we will go to jail. Our social limitations on activated schemas are so ingrained that it is almost subconscious.

So what happens when we take away those social limitations? Message boards are a good place to start. Message boards are the home of anonymous insults; a place where there are very different social rules; and a place of little to no consequences for our actions. That's why you get trolls and e-thugs saying things they'd never say to your face at, say, a Purdue tail gait. It's why they are so full of vitriol. It's why blogs exist. It's the exact point that Buzz Bissinger was trying to make a few months ago. Activated schemas are not held accountable here on the interwebs, and it's up to blogs and message boarders to police themselves.

There's another way that social limitations are taken away that has nothing to do with anonymity. Alcohol. Wonder why it's easier to talk to girls when you're drunk (nevermind that you're still no good at it)? It's because your brain isn't limiting your activated schema to conform to anything, let alone social limitations. Wonder why something like this happens?



Normally, I'd wager that the social limitations of the situation (i.e. I'm not going to hurt another human being over collegiate allegiance) would prevent these fans from throwing with the intent to hurt. Add in alcohol and it all goes to shit. Their activated "hatred" schema has overpowered its limitations. Of course, extreme stupidity comes into play as well, as well as a host of other factors.

So, next time you're strolling along the internet message boards, talking with another fan, or simply assimilating some new bit of information about your favorite (or least favorite) team, keep in mind the process by which your brain is categorizing things. You may be surprised that by knowing the process, you learn more information. Idiots simply rely on existing schemas and add in information that agrees with them, and disregard information that doesn't. You are not an idiot. You are now informed.

State of Game Takes off the Kiddie Gloves

We were just going to use the "BHGP has gone too far" segment as a segue into a belated LTP potpourri awards posts in which we ripped on BHGP for picking all Iowa folks, and revealed our own picks. We were going to do it nicely. But Hawkeye State decided to bring out the big guns, so we'll go ahead and rub his nose in it.

I don't have the skills to make a slideshow on youtube, mostly because I

a) have a girlfriend
b) have a life
c) wasn't in the A/V club in high school
d) don't spend my Saturday nights playing Halo 3 while gazing at a life size fathead of Richard Simmons that is up to not only inspire me to get off my fat ass and move around a bit, but also satisfies my deeply buried homosexual tendencies brought on partly from watching Iowa Football all those years, but mostly because the one time my black heart was actually with a woman, I had no swelling whatsoever in my gold pants.

Here is what I can do. I can embed a youtube clip that somebody else made (Plagerism right? Kinda like ripping off that already established Michigan video to begin with?) that I feel encapsulates the Iowa football experience in a nutshell:



Iowa Football: Where nothing happens. Nothing, atall.

The little video you made was cute, given that Iowa has won a grand total of 10 games against Michigan. That's not playing the "in the last 50 years" or "since the modern era" card. That's 10 games since the dawn of time. My guess is that Hawkeye State originally set out to make an "Iowa football: where amazing happens" video, found that he couldn't find any pictures of Iowa triumphs (here's a hint: they don't exist), and did the next best thing.

The road to OPS may very well go through you, HS - but that's only because you two are elephant-walking around so damn much that I get a two-for-one that I never, ever wanted to see. And dude, I'll take James Dean over Steve McQueen any day of the week. I notice you didn't bring Champ's pic into this, because the Godfather smokes McQueen all day long, twice on Saturday. You think we copied you on the "black and white badass celeb pic" for our own profile? That's cute, but the truth is we didn't really even know your site existed before we started this one, mostly because we haven't heard anything from Iowa Football since 2003.

While I Was Out

So, I promised that content may be sparse, but wouldn't be non-existent (double negative what?). I lied. I also forgot the power-cord to my laptop, rendering it a paperweight that had to be removed from its bag at airport security. I grumbled. A lot.

And so, the great content outage of 2008 has come to a conclusion [ed: there will be plenty more where that came from...], and I think we've all learned something. Something vague. Something that would be found in an episode of "Scrubs" while a semi-obscure Indie Rock song played. We've learned that even Dr. Cox can find his tender, humanitarian side, by simply observing the hope and faith that surrounds him every day, instead of the death and despair.

Sorry about that - I watched 3 episodes of Scrubs yesterday on a JetBlue flight from Vegas.

Anyways, the world continued while I was away, and here's what happened:

Urban Meyer was a mess after losing to Michigan in the Capital One bowl. His wife would walk in on Urban in the bathroom with mascara streaking his defined cheekbones just trying to keep it all together, man. Often times, he would wake up and stare at the ceiling listlessly while murmuring "Big Ten Speed." He would then laugh maniacally.

In all seriousness, it was apparently a quote from the venerable Fielding Yost that got him through the loss, to which we say "Bully!"

Speaking of Michigan there has been wild speculation as to the new uniforms, and what - if anything - Adidas is going to change. Mgoblog posted this


and this


as possible new uniforms, but Phil from UMgoblue.com says otherwise:

"I have just seen the official Adidas images of the authentic home & away jerseys.

As much as I begged I couldn't get the images (they're under embargo) but they are *not* what is shown in this thread or at the Women's football academy.

I'll describe them as much as best I can.

The home jerseys have a maize block "M" on the shoulder, the number is a little thicker and seems to be placed a little higher than on past jerseys. There's also a small (1/4 inch wide by 1-2 inch) vertical maize strip running down from the collar that has Michigan in blue.

The away jerseys have a thin maize piping straight across the chest. There also have a small maize strip on the back of the collar that says Michigan in blue.

Both have a small Adidas logo on the front.

The images I saw were front and back shots."

and this

"No joke. The images I saw were described to me as game authentic jerseys for publication in a catalog of *official* merchandise. They didn't know the official release date but speculated mid-July.

My gut impression was that I liked the away jerseys- I've always had no problem with them tweaking it a little bit every year.

My first thought after seeing the home jersey was, "And people freaked out when they saw the (fake) away jerseys."

Let me point out that probably 10-12 years ago Nike did an embossed "M" on both shoulders. You could only see it if you saw a jersey up close in person.

I don't know what to think about the home jersey yet. I'm trying to get my hands on a real one before I decide.

I've looked all over the web and haven't seen anything like I saw. "

and this

"Got another look today. There is a *chance* the official images may be available online mid-July. Published images will be available in late July - early August time frame.


Correction: The small stripe running down from the back of each collar has a Block "M" on it rather than saying Michigan. The Adidas logo is above the number."

This has lead to speculation on what they'll look like, and some enterprising photoshoppers have taken their best crack:

According to Phil, the second attempt is much closer. Take a look at the entire thread here. There is a little more info to be culled for those inclined.

Vegas odds are...odd but also pretty close to what we all assume the top 25 will look like when it is released. As I said, I was in Las Vegas these past few days, and stumbled up to the Mirage sports book, where a man was kind enough to print off early odds for the BCS Championship Game. They are as follows:

USC 2/1
Ohio State 4/1
Florida 5/1
Georgia 5/1
Oklahoma 6/1
Missouri 12/1
Texas 15/1
LSU 20/1
West Virginia 20/1
Clemson 25/1
VA Tech 30/1
Auburn 30/1
Kansas 40/1
Tennessee 40/1
Wisconsin 40/1
Arizona State 40/1
Illinois 40/1
Michigan 40/1
Notre Dame 40/1
Penn State 40/1
California 50/1
Texas Tech 50/1
Florida State 70/1

And so on. This, of course, tells us jack about the upcoming season, but for those people scrambling to get on Michigan's bandwagon (no really, they were hear a minute ago. Guys? Guys?) because of that article that came out saying only 9 teams had better odds? Um...better recount that. I see 12 teams with better odds, and a whole slew of teams right at 40/1 which tells me that Vegas doesn't know where the hell to put Michigan, so they're not taking a bath if UM turns out to be really good. I was going to bold out the weird picks, but then I remembered it's Vegas, and they've got a reason for everything. FWIW, I put $20 on Georgia at 5/1.

We've always been friendly with BHGP. We even use them as a witness (not like in court, but like "can I get a witnessss? can I get a witnessssss?) on the sidebar. But this time, they've gone too far, and will pay. I've got to go clean my verbal scattergun, but when I get back, there will be blood.

OPS: This is my serious face.

BTB Preseason Awards Show: Part II

A huge thanks to LTP for hosting/doing the grunt work for these awards. The final results are now up, but you'll have to go over there to find them (at least for today). We're going to go ahead and reveal our picks for the 1st team defense today, and do a compare/contrast tomorrow.

On with the show:

BEAUFORD'S 1ST TEAM ALL CONFERENCE DEFENSE

CB: Morgan Trent MI
CB: Vontae Davis IL
SS: Anthony Scirrotto PSU
FS: Shane Carter WI
OLB: James Laurinitis OSU
OLB: Marcus Freeman OSU
MLB: Greg Jones MSU
DE: Maurice Evans PSU
DE: Greg Middleton IN
DT: John Gill NW
DT: Terrence Taylor MI

Eyebrow Raisers

If there is anybody on this list capable of inducing a serious eyebrow raise, it's Morgan Trent at corner. Here's why I picked him:

1) He's got a ton of experience. Cornerback is, in my opinion, the hardest position to play. You've got to have raw athleticism combined with schematic knowledge (when you have help, when you don't) and the ability to anticipate the offensive playcall. It's as much a thinking man's position as any on the field - and experience plays a huge role in that development.

2) The athleticism is there; this has never been questioned:



3) Donovan Warren - who has garnered some all conference votes himself - is on the other corner. For the first time in a long time, Michigan has two cornerbacks who are legitimately shut-down. There is no escaping them; only hoping that inexperienced safety play will bring them down. Trent will have the opportunity to make big plays - and I think his experience and athleticism will allow him to do so.

4) I couldn't bring myself to vote for another Ohio State defender...

Fringe Picks

There really isn't anyone else on this list that I feel that I have to defend too heavily. Maybe John Gill at Northwestern? He's listed on the Outland Trophy and Nagurski trophy watch lists, and he is one of 4 returning linemen. If our ridiculously early preview of Northwestern is to be believed, line play is going to be paramount to the Wildcat's success this year. I can only assume that a new defensive coordinator will make this a priority, and as such, Gill can be expected to have a monster season.

Duh

Everyone else. This list was much easier to pick than the offense, and (sneak preview!) the matches of our picks to the BTB picks reflect this.

BTB Preseason Awards Show is Like Hiter

Just like the Boston Celtics and Hitler, the BTB's preseason awards show marches along, blindly destroying everything in its path, except instead of Poland, it's the aspirations of every Big Ten school except Ohio State.

The awards, kindly hosted by our friends Lake the Posts, now move from preseason team standings to preseason All-Conference performers, first and second team. Every blogger submitted their picks for first team all-conference, and LTP is currently tabulating the results, and throwing together a coherent (hopefully) output. In an attempt at spreading content out, we'll dole out our own picks for 1st team Offense today, Defense tomorrow, vicious attack on any idiotic picks on Friday.

Cruise over to Lake the Posts tomorrow morning for the consensus 1st and 2nd teams.

BEAUFORD'S 1st TEAM ALL CONFERENCE OFFENSE

QB: C.J. Bacher NW
RB: Chris Wells OSU
RB: Javon Ringer MSU
WR: Arrelious Benn IL
WR: Brian Robiskie OSU
WR: Brian Hartline OSU
TE: Travis Beckem WI
OT: Alex Boone OSU
OT: Gerald Cadogan PSU
OG: Jon Skinner OSU
OG: Steve Schilling UM
C: Ryan McDonald IL

Eyebrow Raisers:

The biggest and baddest of the "huh?" picks here is C.J. Bacher at QB. I know, I know - he plays for a Northwestern, and no, this isn't a shameless attempt to get linked by LTP. Take a look at his stats from last year:

304 YPG (1st in conference)
19 TD's (6th in conference)
19 INT's (Um...worst in conference)
3656 total yards (2nd in conference)
61% completion (3rd in conference)

That, my friends, is a rather impressive junior year. Take into account that Northwestern has a new OC, as well as the natural improvement anyone not named "Henne" makes from junior to senior seasons, and C.J. could have an incredible "why the heck is this guy at Northwestern" type season. If he does anything in the way of leading Northwestern over a "traditional powerhouse" then the media will latch onto him like that crazy freshman girl you "dated" in college. Since I'm overweight and live in my mom's basement, I can only assume that metaphor fits. Also of note is the fact that there is a relative dearth of talent at the QB position in the Big 10 this year. Boeckman and Hoyer can both expect to have better team success than Bacher, but my guess is that Bacher will have better stats when it's all said and done. Oh - and Juice doesn't have his Mendenhall shaped blanket anymore - so I count him out as well.

The other eyebrow raiser in Steve Schilling on the line. I already know what you're saying: Isn't he the kid who got abused last year by nearly everyone he lined up against? The short answer is yes. The long answer is that he is an athletic beast who will prosper under the new tutelage of the Rich Rod staff. He is also in sink or swim territory as the most experienced dude on the entire Michigan line. I'll be the first to admit that this is a stretch, and he's got to do everything right. But if he does, he's going to be a manbearfreak.

Fringe Picks

I will also admit that I don't know much about the offensive lines of any team not named Michigan, so some of these picks may indeed turn out to be total crap. Cadogen and Skinner are picks based on experience and team-success. They are 2 of a bevy of options here.

My guess is that Robiskie and Hartline won't both be on the final cut - but one will emerge as Boeckman's go-to-guy. I thought they both deserved mention, so I created a 3rd WR spot.

Well Duh

Wells and Ringer are both obvi. Benn's big-play potential will put him on the first team despite the fact that I have zero confidence in his QB's throwing ability. If Juice turns into a decent thrower this year, it will be because of Benn's brilliance. Beckem is awesome and will be one of Wisky's primary targets this year. Anytime a tight end turns himself into a primary offensive weapon, they're really really good. McDonald is on the Rimington Award watch list, and Alex Boone is one of those Buckeyes who could have easily went to the NFL, but returned to get curb-stomped by the SEC one more year (but only after beating Michigan. Again.).

Big Ten Bloggers Preseason Awards Show

A few days ago, an email flitted across my screen saying that Lake the Posts (friend [Ed - only friend, judging by recent events], Northwestern blog, good looking chap) was putting on preseason awards based on votes culled from the loose conglomeration known as "The Big Ten Bloggers." Round one would consist of our predictions for final standings, with all-Big-Ten awards to follow. The impetus for creating the awards was to prove that we, the intelligent bloggers of the Big Ten, would do a better job than the MSM at picking final standings, most notably concerning Northwestern. Well...the Northwestern bit didn't quite play out - and the MSM thing remains to be seen, but cruise on over to LtP for a complete wrap up. Notice that we're not in any outlier catagory - which is good. It's not our intensions to ruffle any feathers around here, now is it Champ? [Ed - more on this later]

For those disinclined to link out, here is how the conglomorate voted:

1 - Ohio State
2 - Penn State
3 - Wisconsin
4 - Illinois
5 - Michigan State
6 - Michigan
7 - Iowa
8 - Purdue
9 - Northwestern
10 - Indiana
11 - Minnesota

A pretty fair list, all things considered. According to LtP:

I was surprised at the wide disparity in voting. It isn't often teams get votes ranging 8 spots as a few did, including Northwestern. I was surprised by the Illini and Michigan State outcomes. I haven't bought in to the fact that Dufrene will keep "Ds" in check like Mendenhall for the Illini and also the on-field leadership of J. Leman is a bigger impact from a chemistry standpoint than I think non-Illini followers realize. For Sparty, I simply don't believe they have proven they know how to finish and while Ringer is legit, the loss of Devin Thomas removes an electrifying wrinkle that kept teams off-balance. That being said, my Michigan pick at 3 is completely irrational and goes against my better judgment. Perhaps I'm trying to hype them as I believe, truly believe, we will beat them in the Big House this year and who wants to win against Michigan and have it be a "down" year for them?

Beyond Ohio State, this was a crap shoot. I'm sure that all the BTB will be dissecting their picks today, and it will be interesting to see how the voting went. I know Nittany White Out already has their picks up, and I believe there was some sort of disagreement betwixt us. When I got a text from Champ saying "rant up" I went immediately to the basement to wait out the storm. I should make it clear that Beauford made the picks that went into the voting, with some help from Champ. So the following are not Champ's picks, FWIW.

Beauford's Picks:

1 - Ohio State
Sometimes, stereotypes exist because they're true. Sometimes, the majority is right because they're right - and there's no sense in playing the contrarian. In this case, Ohio State has, by far, the most talented team of anybody in the Big Ten and, IMO, the only team capable of competing for a National Title. On paper - which is the only thing we have to go on at this point - Ohio State should go undefeated in conference. I haven't done the Ridiculously Early Preview on them yet - but I would imagine that "trouble games" exist at Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Do they play Wisconsin this year?

2 - Wisconsin
This was a toss up between Penn State and Wisconsin. My reason for choosing Wisconsin was really foolishly simple: I compared schedules. Penn State's gotta play @ Wisky, @ Ohio State, while Wisconsin gets those games at home. The toughest road test the Badgers are going to face is probably @ Michigan, and with the season Michigan's predicted to have, that formarly ensconsed "L" becomes a toss-up leaning towards Badgers. When the dust settles, the most interesting game in the Big Ten this year may very well be that Oct. 11th rumble between Penn State and Wisconsin.

3 - Penn State
See above

4 - Michigan
5 - Michigan State
6 - Northwestern

Here's my rationale: Michigan State is probably better than Michigan this year. On paper. I know that I said that paper is the only thing we have to go on, but that doesn't apply for Michigan State. You see, we make up the rules as we go here... The problem is that Michigan State is still Michigan State, despite hiring a coach that looks like Belechik and glares alot. The end result for the Spartans last year was...the same as it always is: one game within .500, a demoralizing loss to Big Brother, and a bowl defeat. Every year I pen Michigan State as being vastly improved, capable of challenging for the Big Ten, and probable winners against Michigan. Every year, I'm elated at the results (which are pretty much the exact opposite of my predictions). This year, every one of the aforementioned rings true. They should be improved (see Hoyer and Receiving Corp), they should present as much a challenge to Ohio State as anybody, and they should beat Michigan. But I'm tired of getting burned on that - so until they prove to me otherwise, Michigan State will be a middle of the road Big Ten team incapable of beating quality opponents in conference. I'm begging the Spartans to prove me wrong.

Call it homerism for my honorary favorite team this year, or call it a favor to this blog's only friend Lake the Posts, but I am buying the idea that this year's Wildcats can make some noise. For many of the reasons Champ outlined in his preview, I don't think they will challenge for the title, but I do expect them to beat some teams that they traditionally don't (including Michigan?). They've got to get better at scoring points, and they've got to shore up their defense, especially line-play. Hopefully two new coordinators can accomplish that. Northwestern gets themselves bowl eligible, and there is much celebrating in Evanston this year.

Which brings us to Michigan. Here is why I believe Michigan is not this year's Notre Dame:

1) Notre Dame has been mediocre-to-bad the past decade. Sure, they had a good stretch there with Brady Quinn's senior season, but a closer look at said season reveals a lot of smoke and mirrors. Their schedule that year was brutally easy, with losses coming to Michigan and USC - the two quality opponents they faced. The schallacking they took at the hands of LSU in the Sugar Bowl was a surprise to no one paying attention. Every time Notre Dame has had to reload, they've failed miserably.

Michigan, on the other hand, has been good-to-great the past decade, proving time and again that the talent that Carr recruits is capable of stepping in and filling holes left by departing players. When Henson jilted the team in favor of Baseball, and a half-cocked Navarre had to step in, Michigan still went 8-4. Navarre ended up breaking several passing records en route to a career only remembered as mediocre. When he was done, it was Henne for 4 years. The line of skill positions that have follwed the "had success, graduated/drafted, then been replaced with success" time-line is non-stop. The hiccup with an unseasoned Navarre is the best example that I can think of of a player stepping into a skill position and sucking for a year. Receivers, tailbacks, and (by and large) quarterbacks have been one star after another for as long as I can remember. Non-skill positions tend to be harder to judge, but even when Michigan has had to replace entire defenses, the results have been bowl-eligible 8 to 9 win teams. This has not been the case at Notre Dame: see Jimmy Clausen's efforts this past year, or their attempts at replacing their running back who bolted early. If Lloyd Carr was coaching this team, you would have them penned for another 8 win season. Just because Rodriguez doesn't have the exact personel to run "his offense" doesn't mean the talent isn't there to run "an offense" capable of winning.

Plain and simple: Michigan has proven they can weather the storm when it comes to replacing graduating/drafted players. Notre Dame has not.

2) Notre Dame's coaching has been suspect at best. Despite the blinding light off of Weis's multiple super-bowl rings (and the subsequent reflection from the fried chicken grease on his chin), the man has done virtually nothing in terms of beating top-notch oppoenents during his tenure at ND. He came to ND unproven, and is rapidly proving himself to be a bad head coach. Rodriguez may be untested at Michigan, but he is at least a proven collegiate head coach with a track record of success.

3) The cupboard is not bare at UM. When Rodriguez took over the program at WVU, he was working with athletes who were mostly passed on by big-time programs. It took him a few years to build up the base of players that he could work with, which explains his dismal first-year records. I will wager that the level of athlete that he is inheriting at UM - previous starter or not - is far higher than what he inherited at WVU. Thus, I believe that this team will be ready to compete at a higher level than many think this year.

4) Michigan had moderate to great success running zone-left long bomb offense. They never had to get tricky because they didn't have to. Now, with the departures on offense and defense, Michigan has to get tricky, and they have the best coach in the game at doing that. Combine Rodriguez's willingness to run plays not designed around a punishing left tackle with the fact that nobody has any film or any clue about what this team is going to look like, and you get a lot of surprised opponents. I fully expect Michigan to lose their fair share of ball games this year, but I also expect that they will catch quite a few teams with their pants down. Everybody and their mother knew what ND was going to come with last year - and ND played the part beautifully. Nobody knows what Michigan's coming with this year, which is an advantage.

5) We've got Vegas on our side! The folks who are actually paid to make predictions with millions riding on them say that there are only 9 teams with better odds at a National Championship than Michigan. That's right folks, they said National.

Also - Michigan gets Sparty, Northwestern, and Illinois at home.

7 - Illinois

Speaking of Illinois, I think that they will be a dangerous team, but that the loss of Mendenhall is going to hurt a ton. Juice can't throw; it's that simple. If the Illini can't produce a consistantly awesome rusher to replace Mendenhall, then I can't see how that offense is going to score points. Mix that with an already shaky defense losing an awesome 'backer, and a competent safety (Kevin Mitchell), and throw in a dose of suspect in game coaching of the Zooker, and you get a 7th place Big Ten team. The Illini may still have some shine to them from last year's Rose Bowl team, and I think the BTB final vote reflects that shine. The Illini won't suck this year - but they will take a step backwards.

8 - Purdue
There isn't much to say here. Tiller's last season, and "meh" collection of players coming of a mediocre season last year, etc. Purdue will beat the low-end Big 10 teams, and will lose to the top-end. In full disclosure, there wasn't a whole lot going on mentally when I slotted Purdue in at 8th.

9 - Iowa
With apologies to BHGP, I don't see this year's Iowa squad as contending for anything this year. Depending on their OOC results, they could get themselves bowl eligible, and (in hindsight) are probably deserving of a better showing than 9th.

10 - Minnesota
They were a frieght train of suck last year, and I don't expect this year to be much different. Next year, you could see them sneaking up into the middle of the conference given the mildly awesome level of recruiting they've been able to sustain. But not this year.

11 - Indiana
Loss of top flight talent? Check
Potential loss of field-equalizing QB? Check
Last place finish in the Big 10? Check


Wrap Up

We weren't really that much different than the combined results. We seem to be in disagreement about Illinois and Michigan, but other than those two, we seem to be right on the mainstream money. Tomorrow, I'll have a post comparing our little vote to those of the MSM and preview mags.

Chris Carter is a big meany pants.

Not an asshole. Meanpants, but not an asshole.

There are very few blogs who manage to cross over into what many would call mainstream media, and even fewer who do so on their own terms. Mgoblog and EDSBS are the two best examples from the college football realm, but there are others - particularly in Baseball. Perhaps the most famous sports-ish blog who has jumped into mainstream without compromising the stinging commentary that acted as their diving board is Deadspin.com, and writer Will Leitch. Recently, Will has sparred on air with writer Buzz Bissinger, which actually spurred a ton of discussion and commentary on what blogs are, and how they are relevant to sports media. I would even go so far to say that the on air spat between the two (which left Buzz looking foolish) was a net gain for blogs. However, there are still those who absolutely won't accept that regular people, living regular lives, can sit behind a keyboard and reach literally thousands of people without having to be accountable to anybody except their readers. Witness Will's exchange with Chris Carter, former OSU Wide Receiver, and current ESPN analyst:

Somehow, I ended up being introduced to Cris Carter, formerly from HBO Sports (and the Minnesota Vikings) and now on ESPN. I shook his hand.

“Hello, I’m Will.”

Cris frowned, and even sneaked in a scowl. “Are you the blog guy?”

I smiled. The best way, I’ve learned, to deal with the hostility is just to smile. They’re not expecting that. I suspect they all think we look like the Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons or, more sinister, like a member of the thrash metal group GWAR. “Yes, sir, I do write a blog.”

Cris’ scowl was no longer sneaky. “You know, I got a problem with you,” the Ohio State grad said, through gritted teeth. “Some Michigan blog said I was an a–hole. Better nobody say that to my face.”

Smiling, trying to look calm, I said, “Well, sir, you know, I didn’t write that.”

Cris took a step closer to me. “You damn well better not of, ’cause if you had, I’d take you out right here.”

I smiled, again, shook his hand, and went on my way.

Will may not have wrote it, and I'm not sure which Michigan blogger wrote it, but Chris Carter needs to take a deep breath. You may not be an asshole (although evidence from this story may point otherwise), but your reaction to a blogger who has actually jumped into mainstream (meaning he's freakin' important, whether you care to admit it or not) is telling. If we're just a bunch of guys sitting around our parent's basements gaining weight between Halo 3 sessions, then why are you so threatened?

(HT: 11W)